The Great Schism
The Great Schism is a period of Panguillan history that begins with the collapse of the First Kymurian Empire, charters the rise of the Schism states, limited Kymurian republicanism, democratic experiments and ends with the Great Restoration of Kymuria under Empress Theodora I. The Rule of Emperor Tyenn The embarrassing loss of Kymurian influence in Anjuin was a defining event that solid ified the fear of many that Kymuria was losing its dominance, and would need drastic reform if it was to continue. Despite this, Kymurian temperament and culture remained nationalistic, however efforts to adjust and reform the traditional methods of governance were constrained by a deeply conservative court culture that did not want to give away too much authority to reform. In 938KF the Emperor Viktor I was guided by reformers for a drastic reform in education, military and economy under the Imperial Manifesto. The reform was a failure, as it was ended prematurely by a conservative coup led by Viktors aunt, now Empress Isobel I. Ferdinand, who had always been a puppet dependent on Isobel, was put under house arrest. The Imperial Court managed to maintain its monopoly on political power by suppressing, often with great brutality, all domestic rebellions. Dissidents could operate only in secret societies and underground organisations, in foreign concessions or in exile overseas. Empress Isobel closely nurtured her son Tyenn, and their relationship was known for its bizarre aspects, such as the fact that Tyenn continued to breastfeed from his mother until her death and his succession, when he was 13. The nail in the coffin of the Empire was the ascension to the throne of Emperor Tyenn I. Tyenn was initially celebrated as a reformer, and the overarching dominance of his mother Isobel had ended with her death. However, in order to survive, the House of Elegaria An-Bagranthar had been forced intermarry several times over the last century, and it soon became obvious that Tyenn was inflicted with a severe case of King's blight due to dynastic inbreeding. He undertook vast and mismanaged projects in the north in search of the legendary "Tomb of the Red Devil," which destroyed the support of the north entirely, and caused a five year long famine that killed nearly 300,000 people. As his bleak rule progressed, Tyenn alienated the support of conservative southerners by showing an open fascination with occultist phenomena, and publicly insulting clerical figure, even loudly blaspheming the Lady of the Blue Temporality on King Huw's Day. Intellectual societies all over the empire began anti-monarchical sentiments, which continued unchecked since many military governors and nobles held a deep hatred for Tyenn. When asked by an advisor what he intended to do about the unrest, he dismissively stated that "As Cyroth intended, the military keeps the nobility in check, and vice versa." By this point however, he had lost the support of both entities. When this finally became apparent to him, he had his royal guard forcibly disband the Noble Council and Lower chambers, but no coup or active challenge was levelled against him, because the Liberals, Conservatives, Military, Intellectuals, Church, court and Admiralty were too busy arguing amongst themselves over what to do in order to present a united opposition. There was also the issue that no faction (aside from some agrarianist cliques) was willing to tear apart the Imperial system, which Tyenn was using as a shield from insurrection. While certain military units pledged total support to Tyenn, most of the High Command and Infantry wished to depose him, as did the navy. The primary anti-Tyenn figurehead was poet, physician and aristocrat Dr. Halliston Royce, 5th Marquess of Castara. First Krahull Uprising In 1005KF, Marquess Halliston arrived at a Blue Freedom Society dinner, where he and the 14 other members planned a coordinated civilian-naval uprising to capture the city in one strike, however, details of their plans were leaked to the Imperial Court. The government began to arrest revolutionaries, including Luis Pacardon, who was later executed. The first Krahull Uprising uprising was a failure. Under pressure from the Imperial government, the government of Hokasa forbade these two men to enter the territory for five years. Marquess Halliston went into exile, promoting the cause in Outmost for the remaining time. Copa Mutiny It was widely known that the major industrial city of Copa would likely be a site of unrest, since it was divided entirely between militant Agrarianists, Pro and Anti-Tyenn Military units who frequently brawled with each other, and early forms of the Black Talons, who held sympathy with middle-class business owners. On a summer afternoon in 1007KF, a full-dress parade by the 4th Heavy Cavalry Regiment was planned to pass through the Grand Plaza, however tension was sparked when the regiment's bandsmen played a popular tune known as the "Dustman March," the lyrics of which were deeply critical of the current administration, particularly Tyenn t himself. It is possible that this choice was made by the regiment Commander, Prince Barransaya, a known conservative who favoured the removal of Tyenn in favour of Duke Maximilian, (the husband of later Empress Theodora) to show the local peasants that the Cavalry supported their discontent. The Pro-Tyenn Zacrickton Infantry Regiment, who were guarding the streets, began to harass the passing cavalrymen, and before long, a brawl had begun. The Cavalrymen were forced to withdraw back to their barracks at the southern end of the avenue, and officially refused to solider unless the Zacrickton men were removed from the city. "Remove The Blisters" After the Copa Mutiny and the growing reluctance of the Imperial Army to suppress discontent or act as a singular entity, Emperor Tyenn came to view the force as a "blister" that festered over the Empire, and at decided once to remove their power by severely diminishing the privileges that Cyroth had granted them 300 years prior. This move greatly upset thousands of troops, who were subsequently removed from service by Tyenn. Kymurian Revolution By 1019, Tyenn's support had evaporated entirely, with the royal family, court staff, nobles, members of the council, generals and admirals refusing to even attend important matters of state. Tyenn sent a nervous letter to his spymaster, Lord Wendel Harris, but only received a telegram with the word "nuts" inscribed as a reply. With his mind totally consumed by fear and paranoia, at 3:55 am, Emperor Tyenn I of House Elegaria An-Bagranthar committed suicide with the antique pistol used by Cyroth I during the Frenntolic Rebellion. He fired a shot into the back of his mouth, but the bullet missed his brain-stem by a few millimetres, instead severing his spinal tendons, meaning he spent several hours bleeding out in silent agony on the floor before being discovered by a maid the next morning. His body was quietly removed and held in the House Family Tomb of Royalty. The charge-clerk, Sir Mandrake Gaport, sent a telegram to Tyenn's brother, Duke Oberon, however, news of the Emperors death was quickly leaked, and Kymuria erupted into chaos. With Tyenn gone, the military began to self-repair and act as a single united force under Grand Marshal Baron-General Sarod Bremmister. They aligned with Conservative sections of society, and opposed the Premiership of Sir Harding, but nonetheless agreed to take orders from him to protect Saffira and the southern regions from insurgency. Hokasan Incident With central Kymurian power fading, and little military presence opposing them, the "King" of the Southern Kymurian Federation State forcibly evicted the 50 men and women responsible for maintaining Kymurian influence there, while also demanding that some minor territorial concessions be mandated to them. Premier Harding agreed, but earned the ire of the military, who now plotted his downfall, but were too preoccupied with the oncoming civil war to deal with internal politics any more. Civil War As the military slowly pushed northward to root out opposition, Harding re-opened the Noble Council, but found that traditional Grand Alliance Party had been practically destroyed by the two new parties, the Kymuiran Angelican National Alliance (KANA) and the Peoples Liberal Alliance Party (PLAP). These new forces spent the bulk of their sessions arguing with each other rather than raising a challenge to Harding, who quieted the floor by appointing Lord Stanley Corrick-Aphral, the KANA Leader, Secretary of State. As expected, the most immediate dissent stemmed from the northern regions, with the North Sea State, Zeor Republic, and various counter-insurgencies all vying for regional power. While the Kymurian army remained the strongest force on Panguilla, it severely lacked the morale and organisation necessary to maintain the collapsing Empire. With Duke Oberon's death at the Battle of Erickstown, Harding officially declared that Kymuria was now officially "The Plurinational Confederation of Saffiric Law," with Kymuria still serving as the de-facto name. He avoided terming the state a republic to appease conservative elements of the military. At first, it was demanded by both major parties of the NC that Harding crown the Marquess of the Ebro, Javier von Krahull, Emperor of Kymuria, a demand which Harding could not rightly refuse, since it was famously decreed upon the ascension of King Huw that "a Kymurian shall reign in the halls of the Grand Palace without exception," but a convenient excuse arrived when Von Krahull was killed in a naval emergency later that month. "Blue Blood" Coup d'etat attempt At 6pm in the Noble Council, the roll call vote for the investiture of Brache Fermack as deputy speaker began. At 6:23, as PLAP Secretary Joseph Encabo was rising to cast his vote, 200 soldiers of the 18th Grenadier Battalion led by Baron-General Thaddeus Mecklenarch and armed with sparkmuskets, burst into the chamber as Thaddeus took the Speaker's platform, shouted "Stop! All of you!" and ordered everyone thrown to the ground. As the highest-ranking military official present, Army General (and Deputy Leader) Sir Michael Arrisford stood up, approached Thaddeus and ordered him to stand down and hand over the weapon. Thaddeus came down and attempted to wrestle 68-year-old Arrisford to the floor; unsuccessful, he returned to the rostrum and the General returned to his seat. After several minutes, the MPs returned to their seats. The military governor of Saffira, Jasper Aguilar, took the Speaker's platform, demanded quiet, and announced that everyone was to wait for the arrival of "competent military authority." By 7:35, Premier Harding, the three loyalist battalions stationed in the city, local police forces and the Black Talons were aware of the in-progress coup. Harding was largely unperturbed, and merely ordered that the NC be surrounded by loyal troops, and all key junctions secured. No other areas were aware, or participating in the action. At 7:55, a large detachment of Black Talons, who supported the presumably nationalist coup, charged an army detachment guarding the Sar Avenue bridge. They overran the defenders but the Kymurian Royal Artillery fired a mortar at the bridge, collapsing it and drowning 32 of the 81 Black Talon militiamen. Realising that the police deatchments were still folowing orders from the Cristoff Palace (Harding's office and residence) Lt. Col Lyman Sopris advised them to ensure all civillians stay indoors and avoid massing in crowds. At 8:15, a small, 12-MP party known as the Confederation Popular Party finished a meeting they were having in a office upstairs and began to return to the chamber to cast their votes, but were suspicious to hear near-total silence from the debating MP's. One of them, Jamie Milanford, looked through a small window and realised the situation. The small group began to decide on a course of action. At 8:20, 1000 men of the 3rd Foot Guards surrounded the NC and Lt. Col Sopris asked to hear their demands. The rebels attested that Harding had forgone a thousand years of Kymurian law, and that either the youngest brother of the late emperor, Baron Gregor Elegaria An-Bagranthar, or his only surviving daughter Theodora, be crowned monarch. These demands were wired to Harding, who stated that he would not agree unless the 568 sitting MP's were released. The conspirators refused. Harding ordered that Duchess Theodora be relocated to the Saffira Blue Ice Palace, but that she should not be informed as to why, fearing that she may be aware of the proceedings. He then wired back to the NC, stating that "a member of the royal family" had been moved to the capital, but that unless the members of the house were let go, no further action could be taken. Before the conspirators could reply, a ruckus began at the back of the chamber: 12 MPs had emerged from a passageway armed with chairs, decorative spears from the walls and croquet mallets (Lord Golle, one of the MP's, had carried his set with him that day, as he intended to play a round after the vote) began ferociously attacking the men on guard, and before the conspiratorial troops could respond, Kymurian loyalists seized their chance and stormed the building, killing 5 and capturing 195 of the plotters. Miraculously, none of the members were killed or injured, and the 12 CPP MP's were awarded medals for Gallantry. Copa Uprising The major industrial city of Copa was the only such place in the South and Central Regions to hold a significant number of Agrarianist militants, who drummed up strong working-class support in opposition to the government. Their leader, J.E.B Gapon, was willing to take advantage of the military disunity and chaos in the north that was drawing up the bulk of Kymurian attention. The exact objectives of the uprising are unclear, though it is thought Gapon attempted to take control of the large city as a foothold for an eventual agrarianist takeover of the country. In the pre-dawn winter darkness of the morning of 4th day of the Month of Cold, striking workers and their families began to gather at six points in the industrial outskirts of Copa. To confuse the military authorities, who had caught on to the fact that a demonstration would occur, Gapon and the marchers held religious icons and sang hymns and patriotic songs (particularly "God Save Kymuria!"), a vast crowd of "more than 1,000,000" proceeded without police interference towards the Grand Ferdinand Palace, the local governor's official residence. The governor in question, Lord Victor LaVitie, was confused as to the intentions of the marchers, and summoned the subordinate military governor, Col. Stretton, who did not know either. Both men filed a report to Premier Harding in Saffira, and his unusually quick reply suggested that they reinforce the local soldiery and police, though he agreed with them that the march seemed harmless. When Col. Stretton's carriage left the gates of the palace, the crowd who had previously allowed him passage unharmed suddenly began violently lashing out at the horses and driver, before dragging the Colonel himself atop the carriage and beheading him in full view of Governor LaVitie's window. At that point, the religious symbols and Kymurian flags were replaced with red banners and weapons. LaVitie attempted to telegraph Saffira, but the rebels had sympathisers working within the telegraph office who instead sent a message stating that all was well. This was partly the reason why the uprising succeeded so well early on, since the telegraph office was in Kymurian Military hands from the start, but the civilian operators quietly sent contradictory messages. The counter-revolutionary forces were made up of two foot regiments and 2000 nationalist militia, in total, the entire detatchment was only 80,000 men strong, but they had to control a do-or-die uprising of over a million men and women. The next major event was a mass burning of portraits of Cyroth the Great, Governor LaVitie, Premier Harding, Emperor Tyenn and the Lady in Blue. Many Agrarianist leaders later admitted that this act was a major mistake, since it reinforced the Kymuiran portrayal of the Argarianist movement as "godless thugs" who wished to burn symbols of the proud national history of Kymuria. Kymurian troops, having immediately lost control of the city, retreated to the outskirts and set up a siege networrk, where General Nicolas Fransky took command and re-established contact with Premier Harding, who declared a State of Emergency but instructed the troops not to deliberately fire on or bombard the 1,000,000-plus rebels. Sporadic exchanges of rifle fire occurred, but no major casualties had yet been taken. Meanwhile, spare troops and militia began to march for Copa from all around the country. By leaving the city, the military had abandoned seven major armouries and barracks to the Agrarianists, as well as Governor LaVitie, eighteen of his staff and 12 guards to the rebels. The house staff were allowed safe passage to the military perimeter, and the Governor was taken prisoner, but the guards insisted on fighting a desperate last stand, and all 12 were killed. To test the resolve of the rebels, Gen. Fransky ordered a battalion of 1200 men to attack a small bridge held by 1000 rebels, who were armed significantly less well than the attacking soldiers. The battalion, led by Major T. S. Richards, fixed bayonets and quick-marched at the rebels to, in the words of major Richards, "Put the wind up those cowardly traitor bastards." However, the rebels defending the bridge were well organised and directed a barrage of rapid fire onto the attacking Kymurians, who routed and returned to the makeshift-barricade perimeter. Although from the outside, it seemed that the rebels were doing well, but in actual fact they had failed to take either of Copa's two main railway stations or either of its river ports, at Zackriscar and Salt Quay. As a result, during the following week, the Kymurian Army was able to bring in thousands of reinforcements from all over the south. By the end of the week, Kymurian strength stood at over 200,000 men Their firepower was provided by field artillery which they positioned on the northside of the city at Phibsborough and at Salt Quay, and by the battleship Helga, which sailed up the Huw River. The principal rebel positions at the Governor's mansion, the Four Courts, Jacob's Factory and Pastworth's Mill saw little action. The troops surrounded and bombarded them rather than assault them directly. One Agrarianist in the Mill recalled, "we did practically no shooting as there was no target". However, where the insurgents dominated the routes by which the army tried to funnel reinforcements into the city, there was fierce fighting. On the morning of the third day, hundreds of troops encircled the Copa Medical Institute, which was occupied by 2600 Volunteers under Sephon Heuston. Kymurian troops advanced on the building, supported by snipers and machine gun fire, but the Volunteers put up stiff resistance. Eventually, the troops got close enough to hurl grenades into the building, some of which the rebels threw back. Exhausted and almost out of ammunition, Heuston's men became the first rebel position to surrender. Heuston had been ordered to hold his position for a few hours, to delay the troops, but had held on for three days. By now, constant shelling and dwindling supplies had sapped the morale of many civilian demonstrators, who returned to their homes to wait out the siege, despite repeated pleas for help from J.E.B Gapon and even forced conscription in some cases. The reconquest of the city was a very dangerous affair, for sometimes, entire districts would cheer as Kymurian troops marched through to "liberate" them, whereas in others, resistance was fierce, and many hundreds of casualties were taken. By the end of the week, Kymurian troops symbolically hoisted the flag over Governor LaVitie's mansion, and Harding officially declared the rebellion defeated. Elements of the resistance still held on to backstreets and sewer lines, but these were rooted out within a month. The Treaty of Saffira Although Kymurian troops had managed to supress a great deal of inssurection in the north, a costly defeat at Ronoke Run in late 1020KF convinced Harding that the states of the north should be given independence. This decision faced harsh criticism from within, however, with the parliament voting against the bill a total of fourteen times. Harding initiated a self-coup with General Morgan Drubb, forcibly disbanding Parliament and declaring Saffira under martial law. He then invited independence leaders to a two-month long conference in the opulent ballrooms of the Grand Palace, where they deliberated on what course to take. The representatives were: * Dr. Javier Francia - "Republic of Mollburg" * High Abbot Thaddeus Volnynk - The Sra Religious Order * Grand Duke Pyotr Harris - "Kingdom of Brabont" * President Xavier Brenes - "Republic of Indostria" * Prince Michel - "Roldorf" * Combined Representatives of the House of Arz - "North Sea State" * Zeor Junta - "Zeor State"